The Day Pride Embarrassed Me

One funny thing I have learned about competition is how quickly it can humble someone. I got to realize this during all these evenings' football matches that I usually played back then in one field not so far from my area.

This particular evening, I was so full of myself in noise and confidence. I just scored the second goal for my set, and I started feeling like I just won the Ballon d'Or. I even looked at my friend and told him, “Beat that if you can.”
Everyone around burst into laughter. I was feeling on top of the world.

Just a few minutes into the second half, this same friend dribbled me so hard that those watching started shouting my name in mockery. Then he scored, and not long after, he scored again to equalize. Just a few minutes to the end of the match, he scored another goal. My set was eliminated. And I still remember how that evening felt for me and how blurry everything became.

I seemed not to forget that particular evening for a long time until it became the last thing that came to my mind. It felt so uncomfortable. And I have learned that one of the reasons why we challenged others is not because we are strong, but because we don't want to look small to them.

Since then, I have become extremely careful of what I say. Because life can come at us so fast, in a way that it answers other people's prayers loudly when we boast too much.

Thank you for reading.

_{Images created by Gemini AI}